The other day, when my mother was giving Rami a bath, I walked into the bedroom and saw this…
In case this requires explanation, it’s a little pile of baby clothes and a diaper being warmed in front of a (now infamous) space heater while she gives the baby a bath.
I sometimes wonder whether the fact that I disliked playing with dolls as a child was a harbinger of the fact that I don’t love bathing and dressing babies. I do it (sometimes), and I do enjoy it when I do it. And since Ben can count on one hand the number of times he’s bathed a baby, it’s just not a beloved ritual in this house.
Except when my mom’s around. She loves to give a baby a bath, and she has A Method. I think she was taught how to give a baby a bath while training as a nurse in Australia, and she applies her knowledge here.
The Method includes gathering a blanket for holding the baby in her lap, and a clean towel for after the bath. After filling the baby tub with warm water, she will put very hot water in a separate container nearby to add to the water during the bath to ensure it stays warm. With Sam, she used to put two cotton balls on the ledge of the baby bathtub, to wet in the water and cleanse each eye (not so with the later boys – my slack influence?).
Then she’ll wash the baby’s hair, being careful to dry off the hair before bathing the body. This is important because wet hair might make the baby cold, and the baby must not get cold. (If you want to transform a mild-mannered Asian grandmother into a fire-breathing dragon, suggest to her that it’s alright to let a baby get cold.)
After bath, she’ll put lotion on baby, diaper and dress him with clothes warmed by the closest thing we have to a fire.
And I’ll get a clean, happy baby without lifting a finger. Ahhh…
Sam (2006)
Rami (2011)
Jeez! Would you stop posting pictures of that portable heater, already? I’m stressing out terribly over here about fire safety!
Oo. I’ve got to write “Jeez” somewhere now.
Too cute for words! I used to like taking a bath with the newly hatched babies, but beign peed on lost its appeal fairly quickly….
I read somewhere that urine is sterile, so I chant that internally through all boy pee escapades.